The Japanese Pipit is a slender bird that breeds in northern Asia and winters farther south in Asia. It is a rare visitor to the United States, with scattered records along the Pacific Coast. It is also widely called Siberian Pipit.
In fresh winter , Japanese Pipit usually has darker, heavier breast streaks and a stronger dark mark along the side of the throat. Some birds overlap, so a single distant photo may not settle the identification.
Why they get mixed upThey were treated as one species until recently and look very similar.